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Wellbeing in the workplace

The workplace can be a minefield of factors that may have a negative impact on your mental wellbeing.

Stress, anxiety, insomnia. These are only some of the issues that can emerge from feeling overwhelmed in your job, whether it is a demanding boss, an unrealistic workload, feeling bullied or a dispute with a colleague.

Mental wellbeing can hugely impact employees in the workplace. It can be hard to do your best at work when you’re feeling down, overwhelmed or under pressure.

If you think your work life is having a negative impact on your mental wellbeing, please book an appointment online below or call us at 076 680 1060. For MyMind at Work queries, please email tbrady@mymind.org

What are the signs of an unhealthy work–life balance?

1) Less time with family and friends

Spending less time with family and friends is probably the biggest sacrifice we have to make when choosing to work more. It’s a difficult decision to make because we work more to be able to provide for our families but at the same time, our relationships with them can suffer. Maintaining meaningful relationships should be a top priority in your life. Ultimately, you can make up for missed work but you can’t make up for lost time.

2) Stress and anxiety

Your health and wellbeing should be a big priority but often, it’s the first thing people forget when they’re under pressure. If you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or fatigued because of work, it might be a sign that you need to cut down your hours. The work that you do when you’re tired or ill won’t be your best. Risking your own health to make more money is never worth it.

3) Lack of personal time

Having personal time to enjoy new passions and pamper ourselves is important to maintaining overall happiness. Working too much can eat into that time. Even if you only have an hour or two to spare each week, be sure to make time for yourself. A little rest and relaxation can go a long way.

4) Burnout

No matter how much you love your job, you can easily feel burnt out when you work too much. Many people don’t see burnout as a real issue but it is. Think about a car- if you don’t refuel, it’ll eventually stop working. If all we do is work, work, work, we’ll get tired, bored, and restless quickly. Burnout can easily explode into bigger issues, such as dissatisfaction with your job or general unhappiness.

What can help

Take proper breaks at work, for example by taking at least half an hour for lunch and getting out of the workplace if you can.

Try to ensure that a line is drawn between work and leisure. If you do need to bring work home try to ensure that you only work in a certain area of your home – and can close the door on it.

Take seriously the link between work-related stress and mental wellbeing. Try to reduce stress, for example through exercise, relaxation or hobbies.

Recognise the importance of protective factors, including exercise, leisure activities and friendships. Try to ensure that these are not sacrificed to working longer hours, or try to ensure that you spend your spare time on these things.

Watch out for the cumulative effect of working long hours by keeping track of your working hours over a period of weeks or months rather than days. Take account of hours spent worrying or thinking about work when assessing your work-life balance. These are a legitimate part of work and a good indicator of work-related stress. If possible, assess your work–life balance with your colleagues and with the support and involvement of managerial staff. The more visible the process, the more likely it is to have an effect.

At MyMind, we recognise the impact of mental wellbeing on work productivity and job satisfaction. Many of the MyMind therapists specialise in work-related issues and can help to provide employees with the skills and tools to reduce stress and improve focus, productivity and overall wellbeing.

With that in mind, we also developed MyMind at Work to help employees manage some of the emotional barriers that can prevent them from thriving in the workplace.

Through a series of talks, seminars and workshops, MyMind at Work helps develop mental fitness. Talks are designed for a larger audience and act as an introduction to the value of emotional wellbeing, while our seminars provide smaller groups with a more interactive experience. Half day and full day workshops give indepth guidance to participants on how to become more productive inside and outside of work.

Our MyMind at Work team of experienced psychologists and psychotherapists provide employees with the skills and tools to improve their focus, productivity and overall wellbeing.

If you think your work life is having a negative impact on your mental wellbeing, please book an appointment online below or call us at 076 680 1060. For MyMind at Work queries, please email tbrady@mymind.org

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